Road to Perdition (12 July 2002)
directed by Sam Mendes
starring Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Liam Aiken
|
MPAA rating: Studio: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks SKG Script: David Self Based on the book by: Max Allan Collins, Richard Piers Rayner Music: Thomas Newman Running time: 116 minutes Tags: Al Capone; Chicago; comic-book adaptation; coming-of-age; Crime; Drama; father-son relationships; gangsters; mobs Tactical strength: [6/10]
|
for violence and language
If you work as a 1931 Chicago mafia hit man, what do you tell your kids you do for a living? Twelve-year-old Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) can't help but wonder why his father takes a gun to work, so one rainy night, he hides in his father's car and watches his father, Mike (Tom Hanks), and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) gun down three men in a warehouse. When Connor and Mike discover Michael, Mike makes Michael promise that he will never talk about what he saw.
And the problems of fathers and sons ensue. Road to Perdition chronicles three father-son relationships. Local crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman) has two sons: his natural son Connor and his adopted son Mike. Connor goofs up continually and only remains in the good graces of the mob because of his powerful father. Michael fills the role of dutiful son, carrying out Rooney's orders with exactness and precision, and he has the role as Michael's distant father.
Through a combination of mistrust of young Michael and jealousy over Rooney's favoritism for Mike, Connor arranges to have Mike killed and personally kills Mike's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Michael. Except Connor screws up both. Mike easily knocks off the speak-easy boss assigned to kill him, and Connor mistakenly kills Mike's younger son Peter (Liam Aiken), not Michael.
Mike takes Michael on the lamb. Mike has two goals: keep Michael alive and kill Connor. Mike tries to pull in favors from Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci), but Nitti tells Mike that he must support the bigger fish, Rooney. Realizing Mike's determination to kill Connor, Rooney chooses blood relation over adopted son and agrees to have Mike killed. Nitti hires Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) to kill Mike. Mike and Michael hit the road and predictably begin to bond. But modern American film morals require that all murderers must die, and the body count rises dramatically by the end.
Visually, Road to Perdition delivers almost a duotone effect with its high contrast and low color. In almost every scene, we feel the coldness of the gangster's soul -- often accompanied by rain. The visual appeal almost makes up for the cliched plot, but the heavy-handed salvation of the sweet angel child with a quickly attached anti-gun message takes away from the film's effectiveness.
Newman and Hanks effortlessly protray their roles, as we would expect from such veterans. Jude Law, who normally gives excellent performances, doesn't have enough screen time to create a character with much relevance or impact. Just about any character actor could have played Maguire just as effectively. Only young Tyler Hoechlin really gives an outstanding performance -- showing both his love and fear of his father. Without other serious competition, Hoechlin might just take best supporting actor, but alas the nomination went to Paul Newman instead.
Related Items from Amazon.com
  Soundtrack |   Graphic Novel |
